A “ding-dong” doorbell sound caught Sarah Beth’s attention. Seeing Tommie, she rushed around from behind the counter and met her in an embrace.
“I’ve been so worried about you, Tommie. There’s all sorts of talk going around, like your tea was contaminated, your cups and equipment weren’t sanitized, that you weren’t really certified to make natural remedies. I told them to take their business elsewhere, if that’s what they thought. Come on in and sit down. Tell me all about it,” she gushed, taking Tommie’s elbow and ushering her to a table.
Finbar watched the exchange with interest, hanging back until Tommie craned her head around to look for him. She motioned him over.
“Sarah Beth, I want you to meet my new friend, Inspector Holmes,” she said.
Sarah Beth regarded the little man with surprise. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were here for a coffee. You’re with Tommie? Did she say your name is Inspector Holmes … as in Sherlock Holmes, the detective?”
“Yes, but my name is Finbar. Sherlock is my dog. I was an inspector for the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, but now I’m just a pensioner living in Florida,” he said with a smile.
“Oh! But you’re Irish!” Sarah Beth exclaimed. “Are you the man who bought Tommie’s duplex? You are going to let her stay in it, aren’t you?”
“I’m himself! But, why d’you assume I would put her out? What d’you Americans think of us Irish, that we’re cold-hearted like the English?” He was joking, but Sarah Beth’s expression was aghast. “Woman, I’m pulling yer toes. Missus Thomasina will stay as long as she likes.” He sat in a chair across the table from Tommie. When he tried to scoot it closer to the table, he noticed it was affixed to the wall with screws, rendering it immovable; Tommie’s chair was free standing.
Sarah Beth gave a self-conscious giggle and recovered from her shock. “Can I bring you both something? A latte, maybe? I don’t have tea, of course.”
“I’d love a glass of water, if you don’t mind. Finbar?” Tommie prompted.
“I’ll have a coffee with cream, please,” he replied.
Tommie looked at him in surprise. “You drink coffee as well as tea?” she asked.
“And I drink water, too, but I prefer Guinness. Why d’you look so surprised?”
“Sarah Beth says ‘coffee drinkers are not tea drinkers and vice versa.’ That’s why I’m surprised.”
“Yer friend is mistaken in her assumptions.”
About that time, Sarah Beth returned with the drinks, along with a fresh mug of coffee for herself. She pulled up a nearby (unscrewed) chair from the adjacent table and sat.
“So, what happened over there?” she asked.
“Coral Beadwell dropped dead, right in front of me. Charles Williams was sitting at the table with her. I think he was threatening her. I heard him tell her to leave him alone or she’d be sorry. Something like that, anyway,” Tommie said.
“That’s terrible. I had to close up early to get groceries from Winn Dixie for dinner. If I had waited a little longer, I might’ve been over there to help. As it was, I had to chase Linda Beadwell out of my shop so I could leave,” Sarah Beth said.
“I heard arguing through the wall. Was that you and Linda?” Tommie asked.
“Oh, yes. Afraid so. She usually comes in at 6:00 when I first open, but I had an upset stomach, so I was late getting to work on Monday, and my regular early crowd was a little less than usual. She must not have waited because she wasn’t there when I unlocked my door.”
“What was the argument about?”
“She was ticked off that I was late. Said it disrupted her whole day. I told her I was sorry, but things happen, you know? There are other places she can get coffee, but she is at my door at 6:00 on the dot every single day, like it’s a ritual or something like that.”
“Why was she over here at your shop so close to noon, Sarah Beth?”
“She knows I don’t have much business after 10:00, just like now, and there wouldn’t be anybody around to hear her cuss me out. She’s getting more like Charles all the time.”
Tommie shifted in her seat. “Charles? Why would you mention him?” she asked.
Sarah Beth sat back against her chair uneasily. Finbar watched the exchange with interest, letting Tommie control the conversation as he observed Sarah Beth’s body language.
“Well, because … because of their affair,” Sarah Beth said in exasperation.
“What? Affair? Charles Williams and Linda Beadwell are having an affair? Gross! I think I’ll be sick!” Tommie made a gagging sound. “How do you know that, Sarah Beth?”
Sarah Beth leaned in again and took a swallow of her coffee. “For the past several months … at least as long as you’ve been here in town … they’ve both been coming in every morning. They stand in the order line together. Sometimes he’s in front, and sometimes she is, and they stand really close together. A few times, I’ve even seen them bump each other, like it’s accidental. But you know Charles. He takes an unintentional casual slight as a personal affront. But never once has he even hinted at being offended when Linda shoves against him. After they get their orders, they sit on opposite sides of the tables, but in facing chairs. You know what I mean? Like Mr. Holmes is in the wall chair, but you’re in the floor chair across from him, only they put all the other tables in the row between. I’ve seen their eyes meet, and you can tell they have a secret thing they’re hiding,” she said.
“You’re quite the observer, lad. Good on you,” Finbar said, smiling appreciatively. “You’ve a keen eye for detail.”
“Thank you. I like to know what’s going on around me. You’d be surprised what I can see from that coffee counter,” she said.
“This Mrs. Beadwell … Linda. You sent her off when you closed up shop?” he asked.
“I did. It was just before noon, and I told her she had to go so I could get to the grocery store,” she confirmed.
“And she left out the front or the back?” he asked.
“The back. I had already locked the front. Tommie and I park out back. I don’t really like for other people to come in that door because I don’t notice them right away. In fact, she scared the crap out of me when I turned around from the cash register. She left the same way.”
“So, it was her that came in my shop on Monday, then,” Tommie said.
“She came in your shop? Whatever for? She’s a coffee drinker, and so is Charles,” Sarah Beth said.
“She came in and used my restroom, just like it was her own personal bathroom. And then she snuck out before I opened up. Never said a word. And, you’re right. Charles ordered tea, but he never drank it,” Tommie said.
“Maybe Linda was looking for Charles? Maybe they were in it together. Come to think of it, I saw Charles bickering with Coral Beadwell in front of the real estate office. That’s another reason I rushed Linda out. I didn’t want to be here in case he came over. It’s all I can do not to dowse him with scalding hot coffee.”
Finbar raised his eyebrows and blinked a couple of times. “He bothers you, lad?” he asked.
“He bothers both of us,” she said. “He harasses us at least two or three times a week.”
“That’s true. He wants us to give up our leases so he can buy our shops and combine them into one for more money. He’s always making allegations and complaints,” Tommie said.
“I knew he was a nasty sot when I first met him. Rally up, lads. I’ll see to it he never takes your establishments if I have to buy them myself,” Finbar said. Tommie could tell he was angry. His mouth was compressed into a line, and his large half-moon shaped ears had taken on a dark red hue.
“Well, I think we’ll just slip into my shop from the side door. I know I’m not supposed to go back in there until Earl gives me the all clear, but I need to check that everything’s OK. Hopefully, they didn’t leave the cooler doors open and ruin all my product. Please don’t let anybody know, Sarah Beth. Thanks so much,” Tommie said, awkwardly getting to her feet.
“Oh, no. There’s no charge for your coffee,” Sarah Beth objected. “Tommie … and now you … are my friends.”
“No, no. I always leave money when services have been rendered. Think of it as a gift then, Mrs. Brewster, for being Thomasina’s friend. Thank you again,” he said, following Tommie through the adjoining door.
Chapter Twelve
Watson’s Reme-Teas had a reversed counter and layout nearly identical to Brewster’s Coffee Shoppe, but it had an entirely different feel altogether. After years as an inspector for the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Finbar looked at food and beverage establishments with a practiced eye for details. He could readily see past the smudges of fingerprint powder and out-of-place herb canisters and equipment and appreciate both the layout and the decorations.
People tend to eat and drink first with their eyes, so Finbar appreciated the appealing ambiance of Watson’s Reme-Teas over Brewster’s Coffee Shoppe. Where Sarah Beth’s narrow 20-foot by 50-foot shop had a sterile feeling with its blue, grey, and gold color scheme and linear arrangement of tables and chairs, Tommie’s shop, at only four feet wider, felt decidedly roomier, with a homey warmth and soothing color scheme. More pleasing to the eye; more pleasing to the palate.
Looking in from the doorway, Brewster’s seating on the left side of the shop consisted of ten painted chairs in a marigold hue which were screwed to the wall opposite ten rectangular 1½-foot by 2-foot tables. These were covered with marigold and navy checkered vinyl tablecloths. Ten identical free-standing chairs sat at their ends. There were exactly two feet between each table and chair setup. A pair of identical navy-blue exterior doors with windows faced each other at either end of the store, with a three-foot walking area in between. A long U-shaped counter covered in baby blue laminate, eight feet wide by 20 feet in length, took up the right side of the shop and opened just next to the adjoining door. Along the common wall with Tommie’s shop, directly behind and to the left of Brewster’s display window, were three dark grey bookshelves which held retail merchandise, and to their right was a narrow self-serve counter backed up to the window display area. The flooring was grey, as were the walls. The shop appeared exactly like the window displays—orderly, attractive, pedantic, and synchronized in perfect alignment throughout.
In contrast, Finbar noted that Watson’s had round tables which were two feet in diameter, with short fabric tablecloths in a rich blue-green teal color. He ran his hand across a tablecloth and could tell from the feel that the fabrics had been treated with a water repellant, making them easy to clean without having the cheap texture of the vinyl or taking away from the look of the cloth.
The chairs were wood with a dark chestnut brown stain. They were arranged four to a table and formed an X-shape in a row of four seating areas grouped along the far wall, with a parallel row of three table groupings in the center of the space, allowing for 28 people to sit comfortably and maneuver between tables with ease. Even though the walls and floor were the same grey as Brewster’s, the addition of the teal accents and natural cork hard surfaces gave a cozier feeling.
Sweeping his eyes around the shop, he could see the front and back doors were painted teal and were the same shotgun configuration, with a walkway that separated the tables from the counter. Tommie’s countertops were a natural-looking cork laminate, and whereas Brewster’s opened at the back end of the long U, Webster’s opened in the center, and she had wooden cabinets above the counter on the common wall. Two induction cooktops were set up at the end near the adjoining door, and a glass partition insured against accidental burns by someone walking next to them.
A four-foot marble slab graced the countertop opposite the tables and was also protected by a plexiglass sneeze guard, allowing patrons to view Tommie preparing her remedies without touching or contaminating the area, much like on a buffet line. Dark amber glass tea canisters were set up on the counter on the other side of the central opening. The dark jars protected the delicate herbs from breaking down in the sun or being sullied by people touching them, and only Tommie dispensed the tea blends.
On the common wall counter sat electric teakettles, teacup caddies, and disposable cups. Beneath the counter were three 24-inch refrigerators that held her perishable tonics and remedies. A double sink and dishwasher finished out the area and backed up to the sink and dishwasher in Brewster’s.
At the far end of the shop, on the left, was a handicap restroom with a wooden pocket door, and opposite the bathroom on the other side of the back door, was an 8-foot by 12-foot walk-in cooler and herb storage area. A double refrigerator with a bottom freezer held perishable potions and items like cream and foodstuffs. Stainless steel floor-to-ceiling shelves on either side held boxes and jars of dried herbs, non-perishable sweeteners, and other equipment. Brewster’s had a mirror image layout, except Sarah Beth’s storage area was eight feet by eight feet. A self-serve counter with underneath trash bins ran the length of the Tommie’s storage room and completed the furnishings.
Finbar finished his survey of Tommie’s shop and took a seat at the first table on the left in a chair facing toward the windows, away from the far wall. He watched as Tommie hobbled around behind the counter area, inspecting her equipment and clucking her tongue at the huge mess she encountered, but being very careful not to touch anything.
“Yer shop is lovely, missus. I’m sorry they made such a ruin of it, but as soon as they let you back in, I’ll help you set it to rights.”
“Thank you, Finbar. I appreciate that more than you can imagine. I’ll just be a couple more minutes. That’s where Coral was sitting,” she said, indicating the front left chair at the right-hand front table, “and that’s where Charles was sitting before he came over to her.” She pointed to the back-left chair at the far-left table near the wall, behind where Finbar sat. Holmes followed her hand and noted each position, visualizing the route the man took to get to the front table.
“And where were you, missus?”
“I was here at the counter. I had just served the sisters at the pick-up area. They sat with Don at your table. When Coral went down, I dropped to the floor and crawled—I can move faster that way—and came around the counter. It couldn’t have taken me more than a minute, but I’m pretty sure she was dead when I was doing CPR.”
“What did the other patrons do?”
“The sisters screamed, but they didn’t leave their chairs. Don stood up—he was sitting where you are now—but he didn’t move anywhere. Charles stayed in his seat. I don’t know who called 9-1-1. One of the sisters, I think. When the EMTs arrived, I remember Henry Erving standing over there at the bookcases by the display window.”
“And Miss Cantrell?”
“She had been eating lunch in the gazebo with Henry, but I remember seeing her afterward. I think she came over when Henry did.”
Holmes got up and walked to the door, looking out its window. From there, he could clearly see the gazebo, the real estate office, and the UPS Store. He turned to Tommie.
“And where were you when you saw the woman who came out of the loo?”
“The who?”
“The loo. The toilet.”
“Oh. I was on my butt trying to scoot out of that window display by the bookcases. I had just stood up and unlocked the front door when I heard a noise, and there she was, slipping out the back door.”
Finbar backed up against the raised display and tried to approximate her vantage point.
“Right, then. Shall we go do some more investigating? Who shall we interview now?”
“Let’s meet Henry Erving, and then we can go to Floral Real Estate and have a talk with Charles and Beverly.”
“Lovely. And I can tell them you no longer need their housing services,” he said with a broad grin.
Chapter Thirteen
Henry Erving looked up listl
essly when Tommie and Finbar entered the UPS Store. To Tommie’s eye, he appeared to still be in shock over witnessing Coral Beadwell’s death. When they spoke with him at the front counter, he was fidgety, breathing heavily, ill at ease, and looked green around the gills, but he readily answered their questions.
“Hi, Henry. Are you doing all right?” Tommie asked.
“Don’t feel great. As well as can be expected, I guess, after seeing somebody I know lying dead right in front of me. I’ve never seen a dead body before,” he lamented.
“I know. Me neither. Henry, I want you to meet my new friend, Inspector Holmes. He’s moved here from Dublin, Ireland and owns the duplex I live in on Camelia, so I guess I can say he’s my landlord, too.”
Henry reached his arm forward and shook hands feebly. Finbar noticed his palm was sweaty.
“Nice to meet you. Are you that famous Inspector?”
“Nah, I’m a food inspector,” Finbar said with a grin, “or at least I was until I became a pensioner.”
“Not Sherlock, then. I’m sorry, but what was your first name again? I’ve been a little out of it since Monday.”
“It’s Finbar. It means fair-haired.”
“Ah, that’s interesting. What made you decide to live here, Finbar Holmes?”
“I like the sunshine. We don’t see it so very often in Ireland. They don’t call it the Emerald Isle because of the sun. We’ve a great deal of rain. I decided to move to a warmer climate in my old age. California, Florida, Canary Islands. I like a place with a beach within driving distance. I Googled and found the name Floribunda, and I liked it, so here I am,” Finbar said amiably.
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